The Pain in the Engagement
by blynnh
Summary: Booth gets engaged but not to Bones causing her to realize her true feelings.
1. Chapter 1

This takes place in the near future… Hope you like it. I don't own any of them.

"I'm getting married."

Brennan physically flinched at the memory of Booth's words from earlier that day. She couldn't get the scene from playing over and over in her head. Bones and Booth had been partners for 4 years and she thought that she knew him better than anyone but nothing could have surprised her more than that statement. When he walked into her office earlier today she never would have guessed the conversation they were about to have. He had sat her down and told her he had something serious to talk about. The look on his face was as if somebody had died so Brennan prepared herself for the worst and had been right in doing so. "I'm getting married." She knew she wasn't an expert on human emotion but she thought one was supposed to look happier when delivering that news. Booth certainly did not look very happy his eyes almost look tormented over what he was telling her.

Booth had been dating Jenny Walters for a little over a month now and Brennan couldn't figure out why. Jenny was clingy and whiny. If Booth didn't call every hour she hounded him until he assured her everything was okay. She wasn't funny or even all that pretty. She was everything Brennan wasn't and everything that she had thought Booth hated. Obviously she had been wrong.

Brennan did the only thing she knew to do in that moment after Booth broke the news. She congratulated him, like he had taught her to do in these social situations. They exchanged the usual questions and answers, when's the big day, etc., talked about their last case and then falling silent. As if their relationship had just evaporated. Booth walked out of the room without so much as an offer for pie. It was the most uncomfortable conversation they had had in a long time.

Something had happened though when Brennan had heard the news. She didn't know why but she felt lost. Like her whole world had turned upside down. It didn't make logical sense. Her and Booth would still be partners so why was she so upset? Why did she care so much? Like she did with all of her emotion questions she decided to go to Angela for help. She walked into Angela's office and was greeted with the customary greeting.

"Hey sweetie, what's up?" Angela said turning away from the computer screen.

"Did you hear Booth's news?" Brennan questioned bluntly. "About Jenny?"

"I heard a rumor." Angela said with a grin. "I laughed pretty hard, actually. Like Booth would ever willingly marry that girl." At the look on Brennan's face Angela stopped laughing. "It's not true is it?"

"He told me himself so I'm assuming it's true." Brennan responded. "He's getting married."

"What?" Angela sputtered, clearly shocked. "He barely knows that girl and she's like a little annoying puppy that keeps nipping at his heels. Why would he want to put up with that forever?"

Brennan looked as confused as Angela obviously was but thinking logically answered. "Because he cares about her and don't you always say love is accepting someone as they are? He accepts her and although it is not scientifically sound he must have some chemical reaction to her he sees as love."

"There is no way, he's okay with that. That girl is weird." Angela insisted.

Brennan ignored the last part getting to her point. "I'm never going to understand your interpretation of love but what I don't understand is my reaction. I feel like I did when I was buried alive. I feel lost and like part of me is gone and I don't understand why."

Angela answered simply, "Sweetie, because he's yours and she's taking him away. What you're feeling is completely normal."

"No you're wrong. He's not mine. I don't own Booth, we're partners. You can't own a person." Brennan stated with conviction.

"I know that, but I mean he's your guy. He's who you cry with and laugh with. You can be yourself with him and he completely understands. It's understandable that you would miss that, Brennan."

"That is true, if he's married our relationship would fundamentally change. I guess it would make sense I wouldn't enjoy that." Brennan reasoned.

"See, its all easily explained." Looking at Brennan though Angela thought that maybe this was a good time to test the matchmaking waters again, maybe Brennan would be more receptive. "You know though, there's always another scenario, for your feelings."

"What's that? Seeing all aspects will be helpful in figuring this out." Brennan questioned.

"You're upset because you feel it's a missed opportunity. That it should be you and him getting married. Because you love him." Angela said hoping that her friend wouldn't completely write off what she was saying.

"That's ridiculous. We are not in a romantic relationship we are just partners and I certainly do not love him like that."

"I know you keep saying that and I know you hate psychology or imagining things and think the idea of love is ridiculous but just do this one thing for me as a favor. Imagine your life in 40 years. You're retired from the Jeffersonian, who are you with? When you see your grandkids, who do they look like? You and Booth have a connection that is very rare Brennan and up until now it was fine staying the way that it was because nothing threatened it but maybe you're realizing that you want more from your relationship. What you feel may just be love."

Brennan was quiet for a few moments then whispered, "What if I do want more, how would I know for sure, 100%?"

"You just have to know, sweetie, and trust yourself which I think that you do. The thought of him being gone from your life terrifies you but you have to accept it, something I've been pushing you to do for years. You better figure it out quick now though so you can tell that sexy man. You don't want to have to wonder what if."

"You're right. Thanks Angela."

"Anytime, sweetie and just so you know if you ever want to egg her house I'm ready."

"I don't know what that means."

Angela laughed, "Just go think about what I said and be honest with yourself."

"I will." Brennan walked back to her office thinking of how to figure out what she felt. She tried to think about it reasonably. Putting together the pieces of evidence and looking at all possibilities.

There was the way she felt after Pam Noonan had shot Booth and she thought he was gone. She knew she had never wanted to feel that pain again and had assumed it was the loyalty she felt to her partner but she also knew it could be more.

She decided something that night. All signs pointed to her being in love with Booth just like Angela and Sweets had hinted at for so long now. This realization terrified her because everytime she had loved someone it ended badly but at the same time she was now also terrified of losing him. She knew that if she wanted to do anything about the situation she had to tell him but her instinct was to turn and run. Telling him would make her more vulnerable then she had ever been and she wasn't sure if she could handle that. Her decision was whether or not her wounded pride was more important than a broken heart.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the long wait. Vacation got in the way. Happy labor day!

Brennan had decided she was in love with Booth but had not decided how in the world to tell him. It had been two weeks and she couldn't work up the nerve. It almost seemed like nothing had changed between them. He still picked her up for lunch almost everyday and when they had a case they were inseparable. The only difference was at night now Booth went home and didn't see Brennan as much. They never talked about Booth's upcoming nuptials and they had both almost silently agreed to forget it was happening. Booth even seemed to feel a little guilty about something but Brennan didn't pay much attention to that. Brennan was actually curious why Booth had even told her about the wedding considering it didn't seem to change anything about their lives. She found that a little strange however considering a marriage probably was supposed to change everything. Relationships would never be the same after a nuptial like that.

Even with nothing changing Brennan knew she had to do something. She couldn't just go on pretending she didn't have feelings for Booth. It wasn't fair to her or to him. Everytime she saw him the butterflies in her stomach were out of control. She wanted to be with him all the time. And even though this was incredibly uncharacteristic of her she had to do something. Tonight at the Jeffersonian ball she was going to tell him everything. Even if he turned her down he had to know. Brennan had never considered herself a coward.

She had spent 2 hours getting ready, something she normally wouldn't do, but hey it kept her mind off things. She was pretty nervous but walked into the ballroom with her head held high. Anyone looking at her would have had no idea she was so stressed. She was dressed in a long sapphire blue silk dress with her hair piled on her head. She looked every bit the drop dead gorgeous Booth always thought she was and as she walked in he saw her.

Everything going on around Booth stopped immediately when Brennan walked in the room, the same as it always did. He couldn't take his eyes off her even with that annoying fiancé standing to his side. To look at him you would think the love of his life just stepped into the room.

Brennan walked up to Booth and the rest of the group and they all exchanged greetings. Brennan was a woman on a mission tonight though. "Booth, could I have a word with you? I need you to sign some paperwork."

"Do you have to do that right now? We're at a party." That fiancé shouldn't even be allowed to talk. She was just annoying.

"No, it's okay. I'll be right back." Booth didn't seem to have any problem walking off with Brennan. In fact it was the happiest he'd been all night. He had no idea what was in store for him.

"Booth I need to talk to you about something, even though I'm not at all comfortable doing so."

"You know you can tell me anything. I mean we share everything, right." He was giving her that smile he only gave when she was around and for a second Brennan thought everything would be okay.

"I love you." Brennan just spit it out but then figured she needed to explain it a little more. "I've never understand love before because I couldn't measure it but Angela gave me some criteria to define love and you fit them. You're the guy I think of when I wake up, when something good happens, when something bad happens. You are the one person that I can completely be myself with and feel completely sure you'll be there for me. I love you and I know this is probably a bad time to be telling you this with the engagement happening but I had to."

"Please don't do this. Please just stop." Booth had turned around while Brennan was speaking and this was not what she was expecting. She figured he would at least talk to her not beg her to be quiet.

"Booth you're the one who's always telling me to be honest to listen to my heart. That's what I'm doing here so let me."

"Bones, I don't want to hurt you. I can't hurt you." Brennan moved to look at Booth but Booth moved to hide his face. Why couldn't he even look at her? Was he that disgusted?

"Then why are you hurting me? You know how hard this is for me. I live my whole life fearing that people will hurt me, betray me and you promised you were different. You promised that wouldn't happen from you. I don't believe that you don't have feelings for me." Brennan might not know a lot about relationships but she truly had believed Booth had feelings for her. All the looks, double meanings, touches to the small of her back. It couldn't have meant nothing, could it?

"Of course I have feelings for you. I've always had feelings for you." That didn't make any sense at all. Why was he not telling her he loved her back then? Brennan did not understand.

"Then why are you engaged to her. Why aren't you responding to me? What happened?" Brennan sounded desperate now and she hated that. She hated being vulnerable.

"I'm sorry I just I can't do this right now." That's all he said, that's all she got? Brennan had been hurt enough she wasn't going to let him do it to her again. The man she thought she could trust over anyone.

"Fine. You don't have to say it back since you're not talking to me and you can't even look at me, I'm obviously alone in all this. I guess I'm worse at reading people then I thought because I didn't think it would go like this but I won't bother you again. I can see where I stand now. I'm just going to go, tell everyone goodbye, please." Brennan stopped at the door and turned. "Congratulations again."

She walked out of the room trying to hide the tears now streaming down her face and missed the strangled gasp coming from behind her. If she could have seen Booth's face she would know how much what he had just done had destroyed him. How her tears were matched by his. If only he had turned around.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Zack's still around! This chapter is still a little sad but I promise it'll get happier soon.

Brennan workedf through the weekend ensuring that she wouldn't break down after the complete mortification and broken heart she had suffered at the ball. Besides, the time where she thought Booth was dead, she had never felt so alone. So completely and utterly abandoned. She hated feeling like this. She hated that someone could make her feel like this. Especially the person who swore he never would.

One thing was clear, Booth obviously didn't care. She hadn't heard from him all weekend and the good thing about that was she was now able to get angry with him. They were still friends and partners so why wasn't he at least checking on her? The rational side of her said he was giving her space but that was not the part she was listening to. There was one thing she knew for sure, she couldn't work with Booth right now. She couldn't be around him all day every day, looking at bodies, asking questions, grabbing pie without completely losing it. Now that she knew how she felt he was in her every thought and he didn't need to be in front of her every day too, it was just too painful.

Which was why when Booth called this morning about meeting him for a case, she sent Zack out into the field with him. Luckily Booth hadn't come by and picked her up since he also had to take Parker to school or she didn't know what she would have done. The rest of the squint squad was shocked that she sent Zach since none of them knew what had transpired at the ball. They all just assumed things were different because of the engagement. A small part of her was almost sad she missed Booths' reaction when Zack showed up and not her but she was about to get a taste of that right now.

"Bones!" Booth was striding up to the platform on a mission. He looked angry but also a little scared. As if he really didn't understand why Brennan wasn't out there with him today or as if he was really losing her. He just wanted to go back to normal. "What is going on? Why was Zach in the field with me?"

"Don't call me Bones." Booth physically flinched at that. She hadn't told him that since they first started working together. It had become their thing and now apparently she didn't want it anymore. Brennan hadn't even looked up from the body she was inspecting since Booth reached her.

"Fine. Dr. Brennan, you are supposed to be my partner. Why did you not come and investigate the body? That is part of your job." Booth was definitely yelling.

"Lower your voice please."

Booth reigned in his voice but only marginally. "I don't think I can."

"Then let's go to my office."

The whole team was looking on in shock as Booth and Brennan walked off. This was not the partners they had been working with. The ones who bickered but always cared about each other. It was like the last 4 years hadn't happened. They were back at square one.

They reached Brennan's office and the second the door was closed Booth started back up. "What is going on?"

"Are you serious? Even someone with your IQ should be able to figure out why I wasn't out there today. Cause and effect, Booth."

She was really mad and had thrown in an insult for good measure. Booth was not faring well in this. "Fine. I get it. I understand why you wouldn't want to be around me after this weekend. I was just hoping, I guess."

"Hoping for what? That I would make myself completely vulnerable to you, completely pour my heart out, you would reject me and we would just go back to the way things were. Act like nothing happened? You cannot be serious?"

"I still want to be your partner. I don't want things to change between us. You don't have to be embarrassed. I don't feel any differently." The yelling had stopped now Booth just sounded broken. As if everything that was happening was a burden he couldn't bear.

"That's kind of the problem isn't it? You had to have known this would happen."

"Yeah, I knew things would be different." He sounded so defeated so sad.

"You are the only person I have ever allowed myself to be that open with, Booth. I risked everything and thought with my heart and put my brain in park and look where it got me. I'm sorry but I can't work with you Booth. Not right now."

"I know. I know and I respect that. I'll work with Zack. I'll even transfer if you want. Get a different liaison for the Jeffersonian. You shouldn't have to give up what you love doing for me."

Was this really over like this? He wasn't even going to try to fight for their partnership. It was really over.

"No. You have a relationship with the team and I'm the one who crossed that line of yours. It's only rational that you would stay on as liaison."

"If you change your mind, just let me know. I'm sorry I hurt you Bones."

"Me too."

It would be kind of funny watching Booth work with Zack if everyone didn't know what that meant. Booth kept getting frustrated and Zack stayed completely calm just waiting for Booth to be rational again. Brennan was still working with the team, just not when Booth was around. Unfortunately, it had ended up happening a few times though, Booth and her figuring out the case together. They were too good together not to.

Today for instance, Brennan was working on a case in another part of the lab when she heard Booth lose it. "Zack I do not have time for this. What do you think happened to this guy? Could it have been the wife?"

"I don't know Agent Booth and I don't feel comfortable speculating. Maybe if we had somebody with more experience looking we would have a better idea." Zack kept telling Booth how much he needed Brennan's help recently although he was perfectly capable on his own. Brennan was starting to wonder if Angela had put him up to that.

"Fine. Bo- Dr. Brennan!" Booth called out as he came striding towards her area of the lab looking a little too good in his suit. "We need the number one forensic anthropologist in the land to help us. Your protégée over there is an idiot and incapable of figuring out cause of death."

"I do not respond to sarcasm or being rude to others."

"Fine. Is this better: would you please come help us with this case or Zack may die at my hands."

"Only slightly better." Brennan started walking towards the platform as Booth followed. "What do we know?"

For those few moments when she was looking at the body helping Booth solve the case it was like things were normal. But they weren't. After talking with Booth and looking at the body for a few minutes she gave Booth the information he needed for an arrest. They had solved the case and Brennan almost forgot that she wasn't Booth's partner anymore. She was taking off her gloves and without thinking assumed they would go to the diner to celebrate. However, reality came crashing back down when Booth's phone rang . Brennan could hear "her" over the phone.

"Seeley, when are you coming over for dinner?" What an annoying voice she had. Brennan still didn't think this woman was his type and although she never viewed herself as a jealous or catty woman she certainly felt that way now.

"I don't know if I can make it tonight. I kind of had other plans." His eyes kept flicking over to Brennan but there was no expression on her face. She was like stone.

"Other plans? Daddy is coming over and you are supposed to be there."

"We've had dinner together every night this week and I've met your Dad before."

"You have to come."

He let out a sigh and gave in. "Fine I'll be right there."

Daddy? Booth doing whatever she asks in that whiny little voice? Why was this happening? It seemed so wrong, so unlike him.

"Sorry, I have to go."

"Of course. I understand." Brennan turned around and dismissed him completely. He walked away with his shoulders hunched. All the squint dispersed after that except Angela, she needed to talk to her friend.

"What does he possibly see in her?" Angela asked hoping to get Brennan to talk about this.

"They're engaged, he must love her."

"No, sweetie. I don't think so. Something else is going on. I'm just saying, she's horribly annoying and seems a little vindictive. I don't know why they're together. He never talks about her, never brings her around any of the usual places. It's like he's keeping her at arm's length."

"Maybe he just doesn't see any reason for us to meet her."

"We're his family."

"I don't think that's true anymore."

"And you and him. What is going on there? You're that angry at him for the engagement?"

It was time to come clean. "I told him Angela." Angela knew exactly what she was talking about but had to make sure. This was a big step for Brennan.

"Told him, what?"

"I realized you were right, that I was in love with him. I had never even believed in love before, but that's how I felt for him and I told him that the night of the Jeffersonian event. He doesn't feel the same way." Brennan stated simply.

"Oh sweetie, are you sure? Maybe you just caught him off guard."

"No I'm sure."

Angela looked about ready to cry over how hurt her friend was. "I'm so sorry. Do you want to grab a cup of coffee or something? Talk."

"No. It's over and I need to get back to work."

"Sweetie…"

"No more Ang. I'll see you later." Angela respected Brennan's wishes but could kill Booth for hurting her like this.


	4. Chapter 4

The week was finally over and there were no murdered bodies so it was just Brennan and limbo getting some work done on a Saturday. Her social life had gone down drastically without Booth around. How had her whole life become so wrapped up in him? Eating at her house, watching the game at his, after case dinners. It all included him.

She had been at the lab for 2 hours when she heard the word she had missed more than she expected being yelled across the room. She hadn't heard the nickname in a couple of weeks as Booth had finally decided now was a good time to respect her wishes and kept calling her Dr. Brennan. Every time that happened it was like a knife through her heart. She would have done anything to hear Bones pass his lips again.

This time though the name wasn't coming from the sr. booth as a 7 year old had just thrown himself around Brennan's legs.

"Dr. Bones! Hi! I haven't seen you in so long. Where have you been?" Parker looked up at her and a smile was on her lips for the first time in awhile. He had such enthusiasm. She had become quite attached to Parker during her partnership with Booth and had been surprised about missing seeing Parker around.

"Hey Parker. I've been working a lot. How are you?" Before he could answer Booth walked up cutting Parker off.

"Sorry, Dr. Brennan, we didn't mean to disturb you. Parker I told you not to bother anyone while we were here. I just needed to drop something off so now we need to go."

"I don't want to leave yet and why are you calling Bones, Dr. Brennan, daddy? That's not her name. You never call her that."

"I'm just trying to show her some respect, Parker."

"That's silly." Parker turned back to Brennan after that. "Are you coming? You have to come. You said you would."

"Coming to what, Parker?" She had no idea what the little guy was talking about.

"My first soccer game. It's today and you promised you were going to come. Please. Please. Please. I'm going to score a goal today."

Booth tried to save her then. He didn't want to cause her any more hurt than he already had and spending the afternoon with them was probably not her idea of a good time. "Buddy, let's not disturb Dr. Brennan, right now. She's busy here."

"But she promised she was going to come Dad. Don't you say we have to keep promises?"

"She's not breaking a promise Parker, it's my fault she can't come but we need to go ahead and go." They turned to leave and Brennan could see how upset Parker was. He didn't deserve any of the hurt their situation was causing.

"Wait! You're right Parker I did promise. And I like to keep my promises so I will be attending your game."

Parker's eyes lit up at that "Good. Then, let's go. You can ride with us. That way you won't keep looking at bones and forget!"

It was amazing how well this little boy knew her but she definitely did not want to be in the same car as Booth. "Actually, I think I'll drive myself but I will see you there."

"Please Bones. You always ride with us." What was one car ride? This was already going to be hard enough.

"Okay, Parker. I'll go with you. When are we leaving?"

Booth looked surprised and really happy by these turn of events. Leave it to his son to thaw out his partner. He should have thought of this before, not that he'd ever use his son for personal game… "Right now, I was just dropping off some paperwork for Zach. I really didn't know we'd run into you." He was pleading with her to understand he wasn't trying to trick her into anything but was so happy how this had turned out.

"I understand. Well then let's go." Wait, this could end up not going well at all. "Will anybody else be joining us?"

"Just Rebecca and Drew." Brennan was kind of surprised the new fiancé wouldn't be at the game but certainly wasn't going to complain.

Booth and Brennan walked up to the field while Parker ran ahead to meet his teammates.

"Thanks for coming. It means a lot to him." Booth hadn't spoken directly to her since they got in the car afraid to break the truce they had in front of Parker.

"Of course I wouldn't do that. I know what it's like when people break promises and I wouldn't do that to Parker."

"Well you definitely made his day. He's missed you. He asked about you the other day."

"I've missed him too." Neither one were sure if they were only talking about Parker right now.

They walked up to find Rebecca and Drew already sitting on the bleachers, ready for the game.

"Hi Seeley. Dr. Brennan."

"Hi Rebecca."

"I'm glad you could come. Parker mentioned you told him you'd be here."

"Yes I did. I wouldn't break my promise."

Booth walked away to get the phone he left in the car and Rebecca jumped on the chance to talk to Brennan.

"Well I'm glad you're here. I want to talk to you. Have you met the new woman?" Rebecca looked completely eager and desperate for information.

"Yes I have. Have you not?" That seemed strange to Brennan since Rebecca was Parker's mother.

"Only by accident. I dropped by Seeley's place because Parker left something and she was there. She told me they were engaged which was shocking and she was incredibly rude. I'm very surprised Seeley is with her." Rebecca did look perplexed. She had obviously assumed Booth would end up with a different type of girl.

"Booth hasn't talked to you about her? I would assume he would have since it's going to have such an effect on Parker."

"No he hasn't really, except to tell me not to worry about her. He's going to work it out or something. But I'm just a little confused."

"That seems very strange."

"I think there's something else to it but until it affects my son I'm not going to pry." Except when talking to Brennan.

"That doesn't seem logical. Isn't it affecting him now being around her?"

"Oh no. He's never met her. Booth doesn't have her around when he has Parker. Haven't you noticed she's not here."

"Again that seems odd. I would think with how close Booth is to Parker he would want his approval."

"You know, I always thought you and him were going to get together."

"We're just partners or we were at least."

"Well, Parker loves you. I think it would have been a good idea."

With that Rebecca turned around to watch the beginning of the game as Booth came back and sat down next to Brennan who was deep in thought.

The game had only a few minutes left and the teams were tied. Although this league did not keep score which Brennan found incredibly strange. What was the point of sports if it wasn't competition? Parker had the ball and was dribbling up the field when a boy who was definitely older than 7 came up and pushed Parker to the ground. All the adults stood up at that and started screaming at the ref. Just then, Parker came back though stole the ball dribbled back to the goal and scored. Everyone started cheering and Brennan was the loudest of all. Parker's team won the game although they were both to say both teams won and ran over to the adults cheering for him. One good thing about having separate parents- twice the cheering section. Everyone congratulated him and Rebecca and Drew moved to leave.

"See you Sunday night Parker. You played great." Rebecca ruffled his hair and then gave him a kiss good-bye.

"Thanks mom. Bye Drew."

"Bye buddy." Parker whirled around as his mom left ready to hang out with his dad.

"Daddy can we get ice cream? Bones said she always got ice cream after doing something good when she was my age and I scored the winning goal. That's good right?"

"That definitely is good. Let's go get some."

"You'll come, right Bones?" This time the answer was out before she thought better of it.

"Sure."

They were enjoying their ice cream and as much as Brennan hated to admit it spending time with Booth and Parker again felt really nice. She shouldn't get used to this though. It would be another woman having ice cream with them soon.

"I'm going to run to the restroom. Stay with Bo- Dr. Brennan okay, Parker." She was really starting to get annoyed by Booth calling her by her name. Even though she had asked him to. She knew it wasn't rational.

"Bones, can I ask you a favor?" Parker asked as soon as Booth left ear shot.

"Sure Parker. How can I help you?" He came over to sit next to her like he was going to tell her a secret. He obviously didn't want his dad to hear.

"Can you make my daddy not sad for me, please?" She was not expecting that to be the favor. She was going to need more facts to figure this one out.

"What do you mean Parker? Why is your dad sad?"

"I don't know but his smile is not the same smile anymore and he's not laughing unless I try really hard to make him. I caught him crying one night at home, too, and my daddy never cries." Booth was crying? Parker was right that did sound a little strange for Booth.

"Do you know why was he crying?" She should probably butt out of this but she was hoping maybe something in this story had to do with her.

"He told me that he had to do something really bad and it hurt you and he hated to see you hurt. You'd been hurt too much and he never wanted to hurt you. It was the night he got all dressed up with that weird tie."

"The night at the ball?" Was Parker telling her he had been as affected that night as she had been?

"Yeah- he told me you looked real pretty that night and he wished he could have danced with you. Then he put me back to bed and told me not to worry about it. He was going to make the bad thing go away as soon as possible but he hasn't yet and I think he needs your help."

"I'll try to help Parker. But you know what I think you're the best at making your dad happy. You know he loves you very much."

"I know but he loves you too."

"No, Parker, we're just partners. He doesn't think of me like that."

"Yes he does, he told me."

Just then Booth came back. When he had walked over to the table he loved the sight that greeted him. His son's and partner's heads were clustered together and they were talking about something in-depth. His two favorite people together again. He was terrified this wouldn't happen again. That she wouldn't be back like this.

"What are you two talking about so seriously over here?" Parker motioned at Brennan not to say anything but she barely heard the question as she was too busy processing what Parker had said. The facts were: 1) Booth had told Parker he loved her. Which could have been for any number of reasons but… 2) He was upset after the ball like Brennan had been. 3) He had been upset because he had hurt Brennan. Either he just felt really bad or he had been keeping something from her. Had she been so busy hurting she hadn't noticed what was going on? Booth should be happy to be engaged not upset. What did this mean?

"Nothing Daddy. I was talking to Bones. It was private, you know not for the public."

Booth laughed at that. Parker really was turning out like him. "Okay bub. Did you have fun today?"

"Yes. It was great! I scored a goal and you and mom and Drew and Bones all got to come. Everyone was there!" Booth loved how Bones was included in everyone for Parker. "Did you have fun at the game, Bones?"

"I absolutely did. You were great." Bones absentmindedly brushed Parker's hair with that statement and Booth about came unglued. She looked so maternal with him. They got up to leave after that and Booth held open the door for Brennan. As she walked past he asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah. I think I am. Thanks for letting me come along."

"No, thank you for coming and for helping. Seriously. I've missed you." Parker heard that and chimed in.

"I've missed you too Bones! You have to come to all my games."

Parker had fallen asleep in the backseat by the time Booth reached the lab to drop Brennan off for her car. She reached for the door handle but stopped before leaving.

"This was a nice day Booth. Thanks for inviting me but I have one question that I can't find the answer too."

"What is it Bones?" He didn't even notice he had said it but she did.

"Why did you bring me? You're engaged but she wasn't there. I mean she hasn't even met Parker."

"Because I don't let just anyone into my son's life and he missed you a lot. I've missed you Bones. I wanted to spend time with you. Parker and I both know it's not the same without you." He was staring at her with that look that seemed he was feeling something so strong it was almost physically painful for him. He looked so earnest and handsome like that.

She broke eye contact with him and got out of the car without saying another word. Things were starting to fall into place for her and she was glad to know that Booth still cared about her. Enough that she got to spend time with Parker and _she _didn't. That put a smile on her face for the rest of the weekend.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the delay- but here's the next chapter! Loved the episode this past week. So close:)

"No you can't touch anything. How many times do I have to explain this? Don't touch the body until the anthropologist gets here. Look at the area around it okay? Twiddle your thumbs. Be FBI agents just don't touch." Wow she had really rubbed off on him. "Don't touch the body. Where is Zack? I can't stop this people much longer." He yelled into the phone when Cam picked up at the Jeffersonian.

"Sorry I'm late. I was at breakfast with Angela and she dropped me off. She doesn't drive as fast as I would have liked."

Booth just stood there for a second shocked by the sight in front of him until he registered Cam's voice asking if he was still there from the other end of the phone. "Never mind Cam." He said before hanging up and turning his attention back to Brennan. "Are you kidding? It could have taken you another 5 hours and that would be fine. I'm just glad you're here; I don't have to talk to Zack anymore."

"Has anyone touched the body?" Brennan said pulling her gloves on as she walked to the crime scene.

"I've worked with you long enough to keep people from touching the evidence, Dr. Brennan. I practically shot a guy who came to close."

"Thank you." Brennan bent over the body and everything seemed right with the world again. Booth was thrilled to have Brennan there. "How was he found?"

"A police officer noticed the car had been sitting here for a few days so they were having it towed. They came up to load it on the truck and saw the body then called us since the guy is basically a skeleton now. Your area."

"Yes well it appears the victim is male. 20-25 years old. Cause of death looks to be the bullet hole in his chest. We'll need the body and the car sent to back to the Jeffersonian."

"That's all you got for me?"

"I can't magically give you evidence I don't see here Booth. I'll need to examine the evidence more closely. Surely you remember that."

"Of course Dr. Brennan. You said Angela dropped you off. Do you need a ride back to the Jeffersonian?" Booth said practically giddy about a car ride alone with her.

"Yes that would be appreciated." Brennan replied as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"You may shut down for me saying this but I just wanted to say how happy I am that you're back out here with me." Booth had to let her know how much this meant to him having her back in the field. "I feel very lucky- you at the crime scene was a welcoming sight, Dr. Bren-"

"Stop it." She interrupted. "Please stop. Don't call me Dr. Brennan anymore. I can't handle it. It sounds wrong since you haven't called me that since our first case together. At least drop the doctor part. Don't be so formal."

"That's no problem. It's felt wrong calling you that, Bones, but I was trying to respect your wishes." Booth said trying to explain but thrilled he didn't have to call her that anymore.

"And I appreciate that but I can't handle it anymore." It was just another sign to Brennan about how much the man she used to share such a connection with had left her.

"Then Bones it is. Listen, I don't want to jinx this but why _are_ you back out here with me? I was starting to think I'd never see you in the field again." Booth said darting a look at her. Afraid he was pushing to far and she wouldn't answer.

"Actually, it had to do with a talk I had with Parker. He shed some light on our situation. I don't know why Parker has never met his future stepmother or why he says you were pretty devastated the night of the ball but I do know you're a man of your word and if you say you'd never betray me I believe you. I should have some faith in you since you've never done anything to steer me another direction. Also, I really missed working cases so I wanted back out in the field. I may be way off base here and you may think I'm an idiot but I'm trying to think with my heart even though last time it didn't exactly steer me in the right direction." Brennan tried to explain stopping suddenly worried she had said too much. Her speech had apparently left Booth speechless however. The look on his face was stone cold and she could tell he was thinking about something. She just wished he would say something, anything. It looked she was about to get her wish because suddenly the look on his face changed as if he had decided something that was important.

"I can't do this. Not anymore. I thought I was helping you but I am not being fair to you. I'm hurting you so I'm leveling with you right now." He said sneaking a glance at her and pulling the car off the road. He put it in park and then reached for the door.

"Booth, why are we stopped on the side of the road? Booth, where are you going, what are you doing?" He walked around to her side of the car, opened the door and pulled her out, moving her into the clearing and sitting her down on a bench before she could even try to protest.

"I'm telling you the truth right here, right now. I don't know what you'll say but you have to know." Booth said clearly struggling to say this correctly.

"Booth- I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Brennan was completely confused and a little apprehensive as to what was about to come.

"I haven't been honest. About my engagement. About my fiancé."

"You should probably start explaining a little bit more. I'm a little confused."

"I know. I know. Listen. My engagement is fake. She doesn't know that but it is. She may look like a little annoying meaningless brat but she happens to be a part of a very serious and deadly organization. It seems as if they are almost taking over the city and causing a lot of problems so I was assigned to infiltrate and going after her was the easiest way of doing that. At least I thought it would be. I had no idea it would cause all this." Booth said wiping his hand over his face as Brennan sat there in silence waiting for him to keep going. "She had been dating several law enforcement officials obviously liking to keep tabs on the progress of the investigation so it was easy to convince her to date me. She's not in love with me anymore than I'm in love with her. We are both using each other which if she knew could get me killed and the people around me. I needed to protect everyone else in my life so I haven't told anyone what's really going on. I knew that if you knew you wouldn't be able to stay out of it and you could get hurt so I had to cut you out. It was easy to keep her away from Parker since I see him so little but I knew I couldn't do that with you unless I lied. I had no idea how long it would last though or what it would do to you. And I am so sorry. So very sorry." Booth broke off not able to continue.

"This has all been a lie. You're not engaged, you're not in love with her? You've put me through weeks of hell, took my best friend from me because you didn't think I could handle your little operation. You should trust me by now, Booth. You could have told me any of this, I could have handled it. I wouldn't have screwed it up for you."

"If she knew the truth and found out you knew as well you'd be in danger and I couldn't risk that. I couldn't risk you." Booth said trying to explain. If I ever lost you I don't know what I would have done.

You did lose me and I lost you. We haven't been the same since the moment you told me that lie. That's not okay." Brennan said trying to keep her composure. Trying to understand.

"I am so so sorry Bones. Everything Parker told you was true I was devastated that night that I lied to you and when you told me how you felt, it killed me not to say it back.

I was such an idiot."

"Obviously it wasn't that hard for you. You don't seem to trust me at all."

"No Bones, that's not it. I love you and I couldn't put you in danger. It killed me not to be with you but I didn't want you hurt, Bones. I could never forgive myself if that happened."

"You did hurt me. You lied. I didn't know what was going on for the past few weeks but I thought it was you being scared to be in a relationship with me or maybe you got her pregnant and were to ashamed to admit it but I never imagined something like this. I understand why you did what you did but I don't know what to do with that information right now. Take me back to the Jeffersonian please." Brennan said ending the conversation.

"Bones. I love you please just talk to me. Don't shut me out- not after all this."

"I can't right now Booth. Thank you for telling me the truth and for letting me know that you reciprocate my feelings but I need some time right now."

"Are you mad, are you going to go back to ignoring me?"

"No, I don't think so. I just need to process this right now. Please."

"Okay, Bones. Whatever you need. Just know I'm sorry and I'm here when you're ready."

Brennan nodded at that and headed back to the car. Booth walked back with her with his hand at the small of her back and the fact that she didn't move away from that gave him all the hope in the world.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the long wait!! Hope you like this chapter- the end to the story is coming up soon. Let me know what you think! Once again, I don't own Bones:(

Brennan hadn't seen or spoken to Booth since his confession and it was driving her crazy. So much so in fact that she had decided not to go into work on time this morning and think her situation through. (Of course not on time for her was after 7 but still it was a step.) Booth had called her a few times but she hadn't answered and he hadn't come by to see her. She knew it was killing him to give her this much space but she was thankful he was. This whole situation was driving her crazy but there was nothing she could do about it. She needed to talk it out but there were only two people she was willing to talk to about this kind of stuff with. However, one of them was the problem she was trying to figure out and the other one wasn't allowed to know the situation. She knew at least to keep Booth's trust on this matter.

He loved her. She thought. It hadn't been a grand declaration like she had expected from him but had just come out during there conversation that it had seemed so natural. She automatically knew he was telling the turht. The feelings that she had imagined coming from him were actually real but for some reason in that moment that just wasn't enough. She had wanted to be with him so what was holding her back now? She knew the answer to that question was her pride. He had lied to her, misled her, hurt her. How could he do all that and say he loved her? How could she just overlook all that? What if he hurt her again?

Logically she knew that he would never hurt her if he could help it based on past experiences. He had been trying to protect her in that overprotective alpha male way of his in this situation. Her heart somehow automatically knew that was true but she didn't want to listen to it especially when she was shocked she would believe that so sincerely. She was terrified. If he had lied and hurt her, something he had sworn he would never do, what was to keep him from doing it again?

She needed to look at the facts:

1) She loved him.  
2) He loved her.  
3) He had been trying to protect her because of how much he loved her.  
4) He was the only person to never leave her. Even through all this he was still there.  
5) He was the only person she trusted. And she still did.

Brennan knew she didn't trust easy but somehow it was easy with Booth. It was automatic. He had her heart for a long time and she knew she wanted him to keep it. In that moment she knew she needed to look past her pride and stop denying herself what she really wanted. Staying away from Booth wasn't protecting her and punishing him. It was hurting them both and she wasn't going to do that anymore. It may take some time but going to see him was a good first step which is what Brennan had resolved to do right as her phone rang. Absentmindedly she answered already focused on finding Booth.

"This is Dr. Brennan."

"Hello, Doctor. It's Jennifer." There were a very limited number of reasons Booth's fiancé would be calling her and none of them were good.

"Hello. How can I help you?"

"Well, Dr. Brennan. I have a little surprise set up for Booth and you are a part of it. I need you to come to the address that I am about to text you and I need you to come now."

"I'm not going anywhere to meet you."

"And why not? I'm Booth's fiance why would you not trust me? Unless Booth finally told you my little secret which we both know that he has." The fact that she so clearly knew about their conversation was definitely not a good sign. "Well, let me tell you a little secret. I have Parker so you will come and you will come now. You have half an hour and Doctor I'm assuming you know what I will do if you involve any of the authorities."

With that the line went dead. All Brennan could think about was reaching Booth. She tried calling his cell but no one answered so she left a message detailing the situation. She called his office, his house and sent him a text but got no response. She had to go to the address but had no idea what she was going to do when she got there. Where was Booth? The ordinarily stoic doctor was beginning to panic but she knew she had to stay calm to help Parker so she headed to her car and dialed the other person she could always count on. Without fail her best friend picked up on the second ring.

"Hey Bren, what's up?"

"Angela have you seen Booth?"

"No, sweetie, he hasn't been by at the Jeffersonian this morning and by the way neither have you. This is a first for you. Where are you? I was kind of hoping you were together somewhere convincing him to leave that fiancé of his." Angela teased Brennan but Brennan completely ignored it.

"Angela- I need you to do something for me. I need you to find Booth. Look everywhere, call everyone but don't stop until you find him. When you do tell him to go to the address I just texted you and to get there now. He has to hurry. I left him a message, tell him to listen to it."

"Bren are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just find him for me."

"I'll go to the Hoover now and start there. I promise I'll find him Bren."

"Thank you."

Brennan hung up before Angela could ask anymore questions and pushed down on the accelerator, focusing on helping Parker, and for once praying to Booth's God that things would not go horribly wrong today.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclamer: I don't own Bones. I know shocker:)

Brennan still hadn't heard from Booth and was incredibly panicked about Parker. She knew only a small amount of what this woman was capable of but it was enough to terrify her. Driving faster than would ever be considered safe she finally pulled up to the address she had been given and found herself in front of an old warehouse. It had clearly been abandoned for years and just the sight of it struck fear in Brennan's heart. Nothing good ever happened in an old abandoned warehouse. Since one of the side doors was propped open she entered there and was greeted with a horrific sight and an equally terrible greeting.

"Dr. Brennan so glad you could join us here today." Booth's ex-fiance (at least we can assume she's now an ex) Jennifer was standing behind a chair with Parker tied and gagged to its seat. His brown eyes looked so scared and Brennan could see the tear tracks from where he had been crying before. Seeing him there broke her heart and she knew she had to do whatever she could to keep him safe.

"I'm here so you can let Parker go now. You don't want to hurt a child, it will only make things worse for you."

"Thanks for the advice but I'm not ready to do that quite yet. I do have a reputation to keep after all."

"Why are you doing this? This isn't smart or rational and I assumed that you would know that. You did not become this powerful because you go around arbitrarily kidnapping people."

"You are correct once again, Dr. Brennan, but this is a special circumstance that needs a special touch. I'm doing this because Booth deserves to be taught a lesson and I want to be the one to do it this time. Sure it would be easy to pay someone to take him out or even you but I want him to suffer for this and this way he will because he will blame himself for what happens to the two of you. He'll know he shouldn't play around with things way above his pay grade. He's obviously in love with you and he deserves to be punished for trying to play me even though I was also playing him. I got to say he's good though. I didn't know he was playing me for awhile there. That's rare someone pulls one over on me."

"How'd you find out he was playing you?" Brennan asked not bothering to deny it and hoping if she kept her talking Booth would show up soon.

"How did I know? I have people everywhere so it was bound to get out especially when he confesses everything to you loudly on the side of the road. He really should have been more careful and ended it earlier." Jennifer responded waving her gun around. She looked crazy but Brennan knew she was more in control than she let on.

"You did a pretty good job playing him too. I thought you were just some annoying whiny woman Booth for some unknown reason fell in love with. Never would have thought you were a crazy murderer."

"Why do you think I've never been caught? People always underestimate me but now I get my revenge on the man who finally gured me out. His son and the woman he loves."

"He doesn't love me." Brennan said almost automatically still hardly believing Booth ever would love her.

"Don't play the idiot. You're going to die soon so there's really no need to pretend anymore. You were pretty devastated when you found out about our relationship. In fact it was even to the point that I began to wonder if he didn't actually hate you for some reason. Putting you through that pain. In fact, you should have been my first clue. He would never propose to someone else when he was so in love with you but I must say I just assumed he was too much of a coward to tell you. The proposal threw me off guard but I thought had him. Now I see he was just trying to bring me in deeper. That's my fault for letting my guard down though and I'm gong to have to rectify my mistake."

"What are you going to do? Shoot us?"

"You should know by now that I'm way more creative than that. I called Booth but he hasn't answered for some reason. Doesn't matter though anyway he has one more hour. If he doesn't get here I will leave and this warehouse is going to have a little bit of a smoke problem."

"And if he gets here on time?" Brennan said not believing that there was anyway to make it out of here alive. She just hoped she could help Parker.

"Then I'm just going the simple way and shooting you. Ends the same either way really."

"Please just let Parker go. You can't kill him he's a child. Let him go." Brennan could see Parker was terrified and no child should have to go through this. She had a huge almost maternal need to protect him.

"You don't seem to understand that I don't care. I am every bit of the monster that people say I am and he never should have messed with me. So let's have you sit down in this chair and I won't shoot Parker right now. How's that for a compromise?"

Brennan did as she was told but she had never been one to give up without a fight. As she walked up to the chair she attempted to get the gun from Jennifer as one last try to get Parker and her out of this alive. Unfortunately, Jennifer proved to be just as adept at fighting as Brennan was and since she had the gun she won. Brennan was awarded for her troubles with a shot in the arm.

"Don't do that again. I tell you to sit you sit. I am just as dangerous as they all say." Jennifer threatened livid that Brennan was not doing as she said.

Brennan knew struggling wasn't going to help anymore. She just had to hope Booth could do something to save them. She was gagged and tied and the worst part was she couldn't see Parker anymore but could still hear his whimpers. He had seen her get shot and she could feel the blood dripping down her arm but there was nothing she could do to help either one of them.

"You know I've got to say it was pretty fun being so close to so many law enforcement officials and not one doing anything to stop me. Even with everything Booth tried to do he still has nothing on me. After this there still won't be any actual forensic evidence and you more than anyone Dr. Brennan should know that hearsay doesn't hold a whole lot of sway in the criminal justice system. Now you two behave yourselves and I'll see you in a little bit."

Jennifer walked out of the room then and since both Brennan and Parker were gagged they spent most of the next hour in silence. Their chairs were across the room from each other facing away which made the whole situation worse. They also didn't know what time it was so had no idea what was going to happen to them and when. Brennan's only hope was that Jennifer hadn't referred to shooting Parker earlier so if Booth got here on time maybe Parker would live. When she heard the sound of high heels coming back into the room though she knew her hope would be short lived.

"Well friends. It's been an hour and he's not here so I guess we'll just move on. Sorry guys." Jennifer said as she entered the room waving her gun and a small box looking item Brennan could only assume was going to cause the explosion. "I'm going to leave and then this place is going to go down in flames with a little boom to start it off with. Good luck with that. Oh and if you think maybe Booth can get here before that happens. I happen to know that he isn't even on his way here and as your drive showed you Dr. Brennan that is a very long trip to make it here when this building is about to explode but who knows maybe he can swoop in. I would start praying. Good bye now and good luck."

Jennifer left with that and Brennan closed her eyes waiting for the boom she knew was coming soon and she didn't have long to wait. The explosion threw Brennan to the ground. Her chair was splintered and she knew she could get the ropes off but she now had a metal sheet lying on top of her. Her legs were still tied but she was able to get one hand free to remove her gag.

"Parker? Parker? Can you hear me? Parker?"

"Bones? Where are you?"

"Oh thank god. Parker are you okay?"

"I'm okay Bones but everything really hurts."

"It's okay buddy. You're going to be okay. Is anything broken?"

"I don't think so. Where are you Bones? I'm scared."

"I'm in the corner. Can you get up?"

"I'm trying but there's stuff all over me though."

"I know. I know. There's something on me too but we're going to be fine. I can't get out though buddy so you're going to have to do it yourself."

"Okay. I can do it."

"I know you can. You're strong just like your Dad." Brennan could hear Parker struggling to free himself as she did the same.

"I did it Bones. I'm out. Where are you?"

"I'm over here. In the corner." Brennan could here Parker headed towards her and was trying to find any way to help them both as his face filled her view.

"Parker are you okay?"

"I'm okay. I'm scared. Daddy tells me not to be but I can't help it."

"I know but you're going to be okay and it's okay to be scared but we're going to be fine. Trust me."

"You're bleeding Bones."

"It's just some scratches. This sheet is on me and I can't get it off. Can you help me? Lift on the count of three." Parker helped lift the sheet while Brennan was grateful Parker was big enough now to help them both and then he moved to untie her ropes. As he did that she examined her other injuries and found that a pole had punctured her side. It was fairly deep and she knew she shouldn't touch it but it had to come out to keep Parker calm. Her only goal right now was getting him out before the entire warehouse went down. She could smell the smoke all around them and it was getting harder to see but luckily she hadn't seen flames yet and the room itself seemed to be holding.

"Thanks for your help Parker. Now listen to me. Your dad is going to find us and we are going to be just fine. You know him, he always saves us. It's getting smoky though so we need to try to find an exit out of here and your dad will meet us okay? Come on I'm going to need your help." Parker and Brennan both started stumbling through the room trying desperately to find a way out. Brennan realized that the detonation had been around the perimeter putting a lot of debris between them and the outside. The longer they looked though the more smoke surrounded them and Brennan's wounds kept bleeding. The pole had been deeper than she had originally thought and was now worried it had hit something vital.

"Okay, Parker. I think we are just going to have to try moving things to find the outside okay. Every few seconds I want you to call out for your Dad maybe someone will hear us. I'll do it too." She knew there wasn't a lot they could do but needed to keep Parker from getting too scared and hoped that Booth would come. She might not pray but had complete faith that Booth would come.

"Okay Bones. Should we do it here? There's a little light maybe it's the outside."

"That's perfect Parker. You really are just like your Dad aren't you? Very observant."

"Is he going to find us?" Parker asked in a very small voice making Brennan take Parker in her arms.

"What does your Daddy always tell you?"

"That he'll always be there for me."

"Exactly. He always is you just have to have faith in him."

"Okay. I will."

"Good. Now help me out here." They began digging and after about 5 minutes Brennan wasn't sure she could keep going. She was worried she was going to black out and knew that would terrify Parker.

"Okay Parker I'm going to sit down for just a second. Just keep yelling for help okay?" Parker kept working and Brennan kept feeling worse. She was only going to be able to stay awake a little longer but needed to help Parker as much as possible. She couldn't let him die and cause Booth to live with that kind of pain. She knew he wouldn't survive it so she got back up and started digging again as Parker called out again.

"Help! Daddy! Help us!" This time was different though because Parker got a response.

"Parker? Bones?" It was hard to hear but it was unmistakably Booth.

"Daddy?!?"

"Parker? Where are you?"

"We're here Daddy. Help us." Brennan sank to the floor in relief.

"It's Dad Bones. He's here." Parker said crouching beside her.

"See I told you your Dad would find us. Go to his voice Parker. Help him find you."

"You have to come too, Bones. You're going to be okay now. Dad's here."

"I can't go right now Parker but I need you to go to him okay. You need to get out of here and tell him where I am. Be my brave kid okay?"

"Okay. I love you Bones."

"I love you too, Parker and I love your Dad. Tell him that okay?"

"Okay. I'll get him to come." Brennan was so relieved Parker was going to be okay and now she could finally rest. As Parker went to his Dad she laid back down as the smoke got to thick to see him.

"I'll be right back, Bones." He called back to her before calling for his Dad.

"Step back Parker. We have a machine moving the debris to get you out." It took just a few minutes and then Parker could finally see Booth's face.

"Daddy?"

"Parker thank goodness. Are you okay?" Booth asked pulling him from the rubble and into his arms so grateful his son was alive.

"I'm okay Daddy but Bones isn't. She couldn't come with me. She's still down there. You have to find her." Parker said in tears. He didn't want Brennan to be hurt.

"Bones was here with you. She found you? Where is she?" Booth knew that Brennan had been on her way out here and was both relieved and terrified she had been here for Parker.

"On the floor underneath where you dug me out."

"Okay you stay right here with the paramedic okay. He's going to take care of you."

"Hurry Daddy you have to help Bones. She was getting really tired and she had blood on her." This was a stab to Booth's heart since he knew it was his fault that she had been there in the first place. If she died she was going to be doing it protecting his son. Something Booth had failed to do.

"Get me a rope to help me get her out of there."

"You can't go in there sir. It's too unstable. We are trying to put the fire out, just wait."

"You are insane if you think I'm leaving her down there. Now you either help me or I'll do it alone." The look on Booth's face left no room for argument his eyes fierce with determination. The woman he loved was in there and he was going to save her. She couldn't die before he at least had the chance to fully kiss her. He needed her and she was not going to die because of him. The paramedics gave him a flashlight and a cable in case Brennan needed a lift getting out and then Booth headed back into the warehouse amazed it had caved in as much as it had and unable to see much through the smoke. Jennifer clearly had not wanted them coming out and it was a miracle Bones and Parker were alive. It showed how brave they both were.

"Bones? I'm coming in there. Can you hear me? Answer me, Bones. I'm not used to you being so quiet. Bones? Please talk to me."

Booth finally caught sight of her and was instantly seized with fear. She was unconscious and he couldn't see her breathing. The only thought going through his mind as he reached her was that she couldn't be dead. She just couldn't.

"Bones? Can you hear me? Bones! There was no movement but he was able to find a pulse. "Okay just hold on baby. I'm going to get you out of here. I will not let you die on me."

He scooped her up in his arms and tied the cable around her using it as a guide to get back out. He called out to the rescue workers outside to help pull them out. When they reached outside the paramedics surrounded her and moved them both away from the building. Even now though Booth felt no relief since he knew how badly this could end. Booth wouldn't leave Brennan's side praying for her to come back to him.

"Bones? Bones? You have to wake up. Come on." He pleaded with her. "You can't do this to me. I need to see those beautiful eyes of yours again."

"Sir." The paramedic interrupted his pleas. "She's alive but barely. She's lost a lot of blood and we believe she punctured her liver and kidney. She shouldn't even be alive right now." That was his Bones always beating the odds. "e have to get her to the hospital. Please let go so we can get her in the rig."

"I'm going with her. My son too."

"Sir we need room to work and your son is scared and needs to go to the hospital too. Ride with him and you will get there the same time. You can see her then."

"Fine." Booth responded knowing the paramedic was right. He left go of her hand and watched as they loaded her in the ambulance and then went to his son's side who was sitting in the ambulance looking pretty good considering what he had gone through. Parker had miraculously made it with only a few scratches but Booth knew he never would have found him without Bones in there keeping Parker calm.

"How are you doing Parker?"

"I'm fine Daddy but Bones isn't. She came to save me and told me to keep calling for you. That's how you found us. She protected me."

"I know she did. She loves you and I'm glad she was here to help you. I wish I would have been here for you." Booth responded close to tears along with his son.

"She can't die Dad." Parker said in a broken voice. "She loves us both."

"She's not going to. She won't do that to us." He said pulling Parker to him as the ambulance started for the hospital praying he wasn't lying to his son.

This story has taken on a life of its own and I've never really written anything like this before but the next chapter will be full of fluffy goodness. I promise!


	8. Chapter 8

It had been 13 hours since Brennan had gone into surgery and that had given Booth more time to blame himself for what had happened. The doctors had said they had repaired the bleeding and that Brennan should be fine but that hadn't made a dent yet for Booth. Ever since they had all gotten to the hospital all he could think about was that he had put her in this situation. Before the doctor had come back out he was sure the news would be terrible. It was his fault that woman had been in their lives and it was his fault that both his son and the woman he loved had been kidnapped and terrorized. If something happened to his Bones he wasn't going to be able to handle it. Part of him thought he should just leave her room and her life right now, but he needed to see with his own eyes that she was okay first. He needed her to wake and up and show him she was okay and then maybe he could begin to forgive himself.

It was another two hours before anything happened. He was holding her hand and was resting his head on the side of her bed when she began to stir. He lifted up and watched as her eyes slowly opened and she focused on what was going on around her. Every cell in his body seemed to relax now that he could see her startlingly blue eyes looking back at him but just as quickly all of him seemed to tense as he worried she would want him gone or not feel the same way about him after what he had put her through. He didn't know if he'd be able to take that.

Brennan opened her eyes fully and focused on Booth next to her. He might be going through his own personal hell but the second she had felt his hand in hers and saw him sitting there she had instantly felt safe. "Booth?" Brennan weakly said. "What happened?"

He was close to tears after hearing her voice. "Hey Bones. You have no idea how good it is to see your eyes open. You're going to be fine. The doctors fixed you right up." He said while brushing the hair from her face without even thinking. "Do you remember what happened?" He softly asked.

"I was going to help Parker. I couldn't get a hold of you." Brennan remembered suddenly panicked about what had happened. "Is he okay? Where's Parker?"

"He's fine, Bones." Booth said quickly to calm her down. "Barely a scratch on him. You took real good care of him. For someone who thinks she'd be a terrible mother you have a killer maternal instinct."

Brennan eased back into the bed, calmer knowing Parker had made it out okay. She couldn't even had imagined what either of them would do if Parker had been hurt. "I couldn't let anything happen to him. I was so scared you wouldn't find us but somehow I had faith you would. That's not very rational." Brennan commented, the drugs must have been making her feel like a normal non-rational person as they had before.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for both you. I'm sorry I didn't answer my phone. I'll never be able to forgive myself. You shouldn't have even been there. It's my fault you're in this bed right now." Booth rambled, barely hearing himself but feeling the need to confess what he felt his sins were to her.

"No it's not. It's that horrible woman's fault. She did this, not you. Granted telling me about her earlier might have caused this to end differently but she probably still would have done something crazy like this. Stop blaming yourself, you're not at fault for every bad thing that happens in the world."

"I am for this one though, I put you here."

"You saved me." Brennan said willing him to believe her. She knew that he was beating himself up for this and didn't want him to. When she had been in the building she had realized how quickly life could be taken and didn't want to waste anymore time hiding how she felt.

"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have needed to be saved." Booth pointed out.

"I'm too tired to argue with you right now about this. I'm just glad you're here and we're all okay." Brennan said as her eyes began to close willing this situation to go away.

"You have no idea how lucky I feel for that right now."

They were quiet for a few minutes as both were trying to process what had happened to them. Brennan was the first to break the silence. "What happened to your fiancé?"

"Please don't call her that. Ever again." Booth said with steel in his voice, hating her with every fiber in her being. "They have her in custody. Apparently, she wasn't as good at evading police as we all thought."

"No, she was, she just let her guard down. This was personal for her and I don't think she normally does personal. We had that in common It screwed her up. You screwed her up."

"Well, they have her and with your statement Caroline should be able to put her away for a good long time. Bones, don't ever compare yourself to her. You're nothing like her. You would never do something like this to anyone."

"At least she's caught. That's one good thing, I guess, from all this." Brennan said ignoring Booth's other statement.

"How are you feeling?" Booth asked her seeing how tired she was. He knew he needed her rest.

"Pretty horrible actually. Am I going to survive?" She said only half jokingly.

"Doctors say you are going to be just fine. You're pretty tough."

"Thanks for staying with me. Have you been here the whole time?"

"Yea. I had to make sure you were okay but I should probably go now." Booth replied slowly standing up and releasing her hand. He didn't feel he deserved to be around her right now with everything he had put her through. Brennan on the other hand only registered that she instantly missed the warmth of his hand.

"Why? Do you need to check on Parker?" She asked truly confused as to why he was leaving. Every other time either had been in the hospital it took a lot for them to go.

"No, Rebecca took him home. She was surprisingly calm about the whole situation. I was scared that she would never let me see her again."

"Then where are you going? I just woke up. You don't want to make sure I'll be okay?"

"I just shouldn't be here. I'll call to check on you." He turned to leave then until Brennan called out after him.

"You know for a heart person you're kind of a coward."

Booth instantly turned at that, confused about what she meant. "What?"

"You blame yourself for what happened today and you're scared so you're running. I thought that was my job."

"I should blame myself for what happened. No matter what you say it was my fault. I mean, what do you want from me? I lie to you. Then I tell you I love you and then the crazy woman I brought into our lives tries to kill you. I am the common denominator of all this. I can't do this to you anymore. I won't do it."

"Don't I have some say in this? Why even tell me you love me then? Why say it if you weren't sure. You said you would never betray me and now you've done it twice in a very short amount of time. You can't do that. You can't leave me. I won't get over it."

"I don't want to."

"Then don't. I love you Booth. And that is probably the hardest thing I have ever told anyone. But when Parker and I were in there I had faith in you. I wanted to see you again and that terrifies me but I wouldn't change it. You can't walk away from me now. Especially when I can't get out of this bed and go after you."

"I just don't want to hurt you."

"Leaving me will hurt me. This is ridiculous to be having this conversation when I can't move." Brennan said clearly frustrated to be trapped in the bed when she wanted to reach for him. Now that she had confessed her love she couldn't go back.

"Let's talk about it some other time then." Booth said desperate not to hurt her more than he already had either emotionally or physically.

"No we are having this conversation now. Are you changing your mind about how you feel?"

"Never." Booth said sharply willing her to believe him. "Please don't think that for a moment. My feelings towards you will never change. I promise you- I will love you until the day I die."

"Then get over yourself." She said coining a term she had heard Angela say many time. "You can't bring me to this point, promise someday and then take it away."

Booth was silent for a moment as he contemplated what she said finally reaching the only rational conclusion. "You're right." He stated. "I'm just hurting us both. Not being with you would kill me. I love you and right now I never want to leave your side again." He said stepping towards her.

"In reality you will have to leave sometime. I won't be able to work with you constantly with me but having you with me as much as possible sounds pretty good to me too." She said with a smile.

"I'm glad you agree." Booth said finally reaching her and sitting on her bed. He cupped her face with her hands and leaned down towards her stopping just shy of her lips. "I love you, Bones. I was so scared but when you opend those beautiful blue eyes my world finally righted itself. I'm not going anywhere and I'm sorry for my crazy moment there. I can't live without you but luckily I'm not going to have to now. I know I'm saying it a lot but just so you hear it again, I love you. I don't think I'm going to get tired of saying that."

"I love you too, Booth and I'll never get tired of hearing it." Booth leaned to kiss her just then but she stopped him for one final statement. "If you ever make me regret saying those words, I'll kill you." She said without a hint of joking behind it.

"I don't doubt it." He said with his usual dry smile as he finally leaned in to kiss the woman he loved making both of them a promise of forever.

Well, that's it for this story. Let me know what you think and I hope everyone had a great holiday season!


End file.
